CHAPTER TWO

ROSA

Another day, another hotel. Jericho's on the road with us for the house shows and he's throwing what I'm sure is one hell of a party in his suite, but I'm not there. Chris actually invited me, which left me feeling on top of the world, but me and parties don't mix. Actually, we mix too well. That's the problem. I can't risk that level of temptation right now.

I stay in my room for a while, but I start to get bored. I decide to go for a walk. I've barely turned the corner when I see two people in the hallway. One is April. She's trembling and her head is bleeding and I know the dead look in her eyes too well. I'm about to rip off the head of the person holding her when I realize it's Bo Dallas. I know Taylor. We gimmicky jobbers stick together backstage. He's about as dangerous as a fluffy baby bunny. There is no way that kid did this to her.

"Holy shit, what happened?" I ask.

"She's hurt," Taylor says in a shaky voice. Yeah, there's no way in hell Taylor's the one who hurt her. He's practically crying himself. He very quietly adds, "She won't let me call the police."

"Go," I tell him. "I've got her. She needs a woman right now."

April nods and asks him not to tell anyone. Taylor looks heartbroken for her, but he promises he won't. Her tears have ruined the silk shirt he put on for the party, but he appears not to notice. He hugs her and goes. He really is a good guy.

I shake my head. "Girl, someone did a real number on you and if you don't want the world to know, you need to get out of the hallway," I tell her. I help her stand.

"No... Not my room," she begs me.

I do the math. Whatever happened, it happened in her hotel room, where she should have been safe. "My room it is, then." I lead her away. A million thoughts race through my mind. Who did this? Is she hurt as bad as she seems to be? Most of all, how can I help her? I've been where she is. No one helped me. I can't let that happen to her.

I remember the night that it happened. I was drunk and high, which wasn't abnormal for me at the time. We were partying with a bunch of other Superstars and Divas. He insisted on taking me back to my hotel room because I was so wasted. He was my friend. I trusted him. When we got there, I'd let him come in for a final drink, but then he tried to kiss me. I pulled away when his hands started to wander. I told him no. I begged him not to, but he just kept going, and then it was over. That was it. There was no going back.

Once we're in my room, I try to focus on April. I check her head. "It's not deep. Should heal on its own. You might have a concussion, though. You need to get that much checked before you try to get in the ring."

"Right... My head..." She's still shaking.

"Girl, do you know who did this to you?"

"I can't. No one will believe me..."

My heart breaks. She's just like I was, terrified and worried about her job. Of course, April's better off in the company than I was. They'll listen to her.

I realize the only reason she'd fear for her job. "It's one of us?" I ask. "One of the guys here did this to you?"

I start ranting in Spanish, something that happens when I get too emotional for English to satisfy me. The rough translation sounds something like this: "Son of a bitch! I'll rip his shit off! Shove it up his damn ass and see how he likes it! Hurting a woman like that, what a piece of shit! I hope he dies! Mother fucker!" There are also a few phrases that don't translate into English properly.

"Please..." April says. "I can't tell anyone." I refocus on her and stop ranting.

"I can keep a secret, April." I sigh. Time to share. "I've been through this, too. And because I partied so much and was so wild, I didn't think I could tell anyone, either. You can trust me."

"I'm sorry it happened to you..."

"Same here. Look, girl, you gotta stay safe. The guy who raped me, he doesn't work here anymore. They released him. I never told anyone what he did. He got away with it, and that kills me." He's still out there. He could do this to someone else. I pray he never does, because I didn't put him away.

Stop, I tell myself. You can't go there. Just keep moving forward.

"I can't tell anyone, Rosa. He's untouchable. He's kind of a legacy."

Names flash through my mind. There's Cody Rhodes, but he would never do this, plus he's so in love with his wife it's almost disgusting to watch them together. Curtis Axel seems more likely, but I think April could kick his ass honestly. Randy Orton pops into my head. He's big and intimidating and I don't know him well because he's a private guy, so maybe...

"Was it Orton? I swear I'll rip his nuts off if he-"

"No, God no," April stops me. "Randy's never hurt me. He's not as big of a dick as he lets everyone think. This guy isn't technically an actual legacy. He just gets treated like one."

"God complex. Got it." Again, I mentally list suspects. There's Lesnar, but he isn't here right now so it can't be him. Maybe Stu, who used to party with me and who can sometimes be a creep, or even Triple H himself, a legacy by marriage... Okay, maybe that's my conspiracy-theory brain working overtime. Who else is there? An idea so ridiculous comes to mind, I have to voice it aloud.

"I'd say Cena, but he's not that type of guy." John's tough on people sometimes, but he's a good guy to his core. This isn't helping, I realize. I suck at this. "You need better advice than I can give. You could talk to Nattie-"

"No!" She's totally panicked and I'm confused. Nattie was my rock after I was raped. I wouldn't be here without her patience, kindness, and strength seeing me through the entire ordeal.

"Nattie won't judge you, girl. She knows about me and she never told anyone. You can trust her. She's great."

"Not Nattie... Please... I can't."

Suddenly, I know. How did I not think of him sooner? TJ raped April. That little prick finally crossed the line. He's a jerk, but Nattie worships him, so I've been tolerant of him until now, but this I wont stand for. "That son of a bitch! I'm going to kill him myself!"

"You can't tell her," April says through tears. "You can't tell anyone. Swear, Rosa...Please."

I understand way too well how she feels, but TJ isn't going anywhere. She's in danger. "April, he can't get away with this."

"He's a Hart!"

"By marriage."

"He's still wrestling royalty." She starts rambling about how he's bragging about it and how PJ told Punk and I realize what that means.

"Bragging... Phil... April, tonight wasn't the only time, was it?" I sigh. Suddenly, everything makes sense. "That's why you freaked out at RAW. Oh God, Girl. We can't let this keep happening to you... How many times?"

She tells me it happened twice, and that he was drunk once, like that makesit okay. "Well," I decide, "there won't be a third. If you're not ready to tell people, then you're not to be alone. You need a roommate. You can stay with me if you want to."

She declines that offer because she's afraid I'll get hurt. I wish I could convince her I can handle TJ, but she may be right. She suggests Colby instead. I point out what people might think, but she doesn't care. April clearly feels safe with him, and that's what she needs, so I agree to take her to him. I leave her with him and Dean after telling her to call if she needs me.

I get back to my room and it all hits me at once. April is me a few years ago. My monster may be gone now, but I remember what it was like to be terrified all the time. He was released a couple of months after he attacked me, but for those few weeks, it was hell.

I let myself cry, because I'm alone now and April is safe, and the memory still hurts. I embrace the pain, because if I don't, I'll embrace booze or pills. I let myself remember him. Paul Birchill had been my friend, my drinking buddy, and my co-worker, but after that night, he'd shown himself for the monster he truly was. I never had a chance against him, and no one even knew I'd been raped until months after he was released, when I tearfully confessed the truth to Nattie. I never told her his name. Even then, I couldn't do it. I was on thin ice with WWE for my partying habits as it was, and I was terrified they'd decide I brought this on myself and was more trouble than I was worth.

Nattie helped me and ultimately pushed me to get some therapy, although I didn't fully work through things until I was forced to in rehab. Now, even though it hurts, I'm pretty okay about the whole thing. I can't change it, but I won't let it destroy my life, either.

I fall asleep sobbing into my pillow. It's very cathartic and I know I'll be okay.

DREW

I'm back in Glassgow, my home. Tonight, I am doing something I swore I never would. I'm making my TNA debut. No one knows except Tommy Dreamer, who helped bring me on board, Dixie Carter, and my old friend Mickie James, who is making her surprise return tonight after giving birth to a beautiful son.

"Drew?" A voice I know all too well asks in shock.

I turn around. There she is, the reason I swore I'd never come here. She looks as beautiful as she ever did, but I know the devil lives inside of her.

"Hello, Taryn," I say coldly. My ex-wife looks like she's seeing a ghost.

"What are you doing here?" She's angry. I automatically shrink slightly at her tone.

"Dixie had Tommy convince me to come."

She comes closer and reaches toward me. I pull back. "Come on, Drew. Can't I even get a hug?"

A hug? She's out if her mind. Taryn's favorite past-time used to be slapping me around. More than once, it got so bad she bruised me or scratched me. Things were very ugly, but I tried to work it out. My da doesn't believe in divorce. He also raised me never to hit a woman. I tried to live by both of those codes, at least until things got so bad the cops had to be called. I never hit her, no matter what she did to me or how bad it got, but I had to divorce her for my own safety.

The worst part is that I loved this wee blonde sociopath once. I really did. I fell for her Southern belle act hook, line, and sinker. I let her manipulate me. And worst of all, I became her literal punching bag, all because I believed she loved me, too. I was young, in love, and a damn fool.

"No," I say, and it's hard. I was never good at telling this lass no. "And I would prefer if ya do not talk to me, either. I'm here to work, Taryn, not to play yer games."

"You're so dramatic. I can be professional." She tries to touch my cheek. I step aside.

"Stop. I'm walking away now." I do just that as she shouts after me.

"You're good a that!" It stings, but it shouldn't. I hated divorcing her, but what choice did I have?

I try to focus on working. Taryn's a ghost from my past I'll never fully escape. Coming to TNA may be a mistake, but they believe like I do, that wrestling belongs to the fans and needs to be wrestling again. Dixie Carter has given me a chance to change things, and I couldn't refuse it. It's time for me to face my demons and be a man.